Cow named Burns gifted to man who saved baby from Rwanda genocide
A man who saved a baby left for dead during the Rwanda genocide has been presented with a cow named after Scotland’s national bard as a thank you.
Amiel Mbarubukeye rescued Delphine after he found her lying next to her dead mother as he was burying the bodies of massacred Tutsis near the village of Butembo during the civil war in 1994.
Realising the badly injured infant was still alive, Mr Mbarubukeye, a member of the Hutu ethnic group, wrapped her in his jacket and hid her in bushes, then took her home to his wife.
The couple had a baby of the same age and decided to look after Delphine and raise her until they could trace any surviving relatives.
They put themselves at risk but managed to keep Delphine safe because no-one could tell whether she was a Tutsi or a Hutu, and the family was left alone.
Mr Mbarubukeye has now been presented with a cow – a precious gift in Rwandan culture – by the Goboka Rwanda Trust.
Church of Scotland minister Rev Chris Blackshaw donated £250 to buy the animal, and named the cow Burns after Scotland’s national poet.
He said: “The presentation of cows to Mr Mbarubukeye and Delphine is an incredible indication of reconciliation following a dark time in that country’s history.
“It is a touching and moving story because he was a Hutu and was burying the bodies of minority Tutsis who were persecuted and he decided to save an innocent life instead.”
Mr Mbarubukeye later traced Delphine’s father, who was in Congo when around 800,000 people were killed by ethnic Hutu extremists in Rwanda in 100 days between April and July 1994.
Father and daughter were eventually reunited and she is now a married mother-of-two living in Ruzenzi.
Delphine presented Burns the cow to Mr Mbarubukeye at the opening of a new Reconciliation Centre at Butembo last month, which was attended by around 1,000 people.
The charity also gifted a cow to Delphine.